Indians-led Citi, Motorola among top tax payers in US

The economic downturn has brought in heavy losses for them, but Citigroup and Motorola -- two American corporate giants led by India-born CEOs -- also rank among the biggest contributors to Uncle Sam’s tax kitty.

The economic downturn has brought in heavy losses for them, but Citigroup and Motorola -- two American corporate giants led by India-born CEOs -- also rank among the biggest contributors to Uncle Sam’s tax kitty.

In a list compiled by US magazine BusinessWeek, Vikram Pandit-led banking behemoth Citigroup and Sanjay Jha-led mobile phone major Motorola have been named among the firms paying highest rate of taxes, with the total tax paid by the two exceeding their annual income.

With a four-year average tax rate of 106.3 per cent, Citi is ranked sixth and Motorola is at the seventh position with 106 per cent of income paid in taxes.

At the same time, Adobe Systems, Cognizant and Hartford Financial -- three other US companies led by persons of Indian origin -- figure in a separate list of 50 firms paying the least rates of taxes.

Surprisingly, the overall tax rate charged in the US is close to 400 per cent in one case, although majority of the American companies pay less than 35 per cent -- the official corporate tax rate in the US, BusinessWeek said.

The list of 50 highest tax paying companies is topped by internet security solutions provider Verisign with a four-year average tax rate of 391.3 per cent.